$15,000 +TALENT+ HARD WORK= THE DISCOVER YOUR PASSION COMPETITION

We at the P.A.L. Workshops realize that sometimes your child needs a little more than talent, determination and hard work… you need the funds to support that passion, so we’re thrilled to have teamed up with The School Choice Group (SCG), the premiere global education consultancy to present The Michael Perelstein Memorial Scholarship Fund Discover Your PassionCompetition.

The Michael Perelstein Memorial Scholarship Fund’sDiscover Your Passion™ Competition encourages parents, students, teachers and schools to identify and showcase exemplary creativity, intellectual pursuits and talent of NYC-based K-8 school children. The competition also attempts to bring to the foreground the full range of what talent can be – from the academically advanced student to the entrepreneurial kid who leaps beyond the lemonade stand, to those animal lovers with the potential to harness that passion to be the next Temple Grandin or Jane Goodall.

The $15,000 Scholarship Fund will be dispersed among five children who show exceptional promise in academic fields, sports, music, the arts, social entrepreneurship, technology or other disciplines. The Grand Prize Winner receives $5000 toward the pursuit of his or her choice; 2 Second Place Winners receive $3500, and 2 Third Place Winners receive $1500, for a total of $15,000. Finalists will be selected from the three categories: Kindergarten-2 grade; 3-5 grade; 6-8th grade. Both the focus on individual passion and the personal story behind the fund are what make this scholarship unique.

Elizabeth Perelstein, the Chair and Founder for the School Choice Group, established this scholarship fund to honor her late husband, Michael Perelstein. Michael died at the early age of 56 years old, while riding with the Westchester Cycle Club, one of his personal passions. A child of Holocaust survivors, Michael was directed by his parents to consider his career and life choice based on practical or financial reasons, and not by his personal interests and unique talents. The Perelstein children followed a different path, pursuing their own passions while still achieving financial security. As a loving and supportive father, he realized the true importance of nurturing passion and talent and eventually changed careers to support his own. As a result, supporting the passions and talents of children is the mission of The Michael Perelstein Memorial Scholarship Fund.

“I know Michael would have wanted to create opportunity for young people and I am pleased to be able to keep his memory alive by improving children’s lives and educational paths as a result of his tragic death,” said Elizabeth Perelstein.

The Discover Your Passion Competition is open to elementary and middle school students living within the five boroughs of New York City, including students in public, independent, charter, and homeschool programs.

Students will be required to submit:

an application with parental consent,

a sample of the work that will be pursued,

nomination letters

and a description of how the award monies will be used to further their passion.

The School Choice Group, is the leading global education consulting service, specializing in school placement for private, public, specialized and international schools, from preschool through college. With over 120 experienced consultants in 50 locations globally, the SCG works with families, schools, and major employers, to help find the right schools for children, anywhere in the world. An industry leader, The School Choice Group Founder and Chair, Elizabeth Perelstein, co-founded the British International School of New York. School Choice International, its business division, also conducts research and policy analysis for corporations, schools and governments setting or re-evaluating education policy. School Choice International created the only web based resource to understand education across the globe, Global Education Explorer. Its consumer division, School Search Solutions, is developing the first school-child matching tool, LEAP, that considers both subjective and objective criteria between the child and school. For more information see www.schoolchoicegroup.com.

About The P.A.L. WorkshopsThe P.A.L. Workshops, NYC for Parents of Accelerated Learners [P.A.L.] supports NYC-based parents and their children by offering educational workshops, talent development-based resources and programs, mentorships and a new discovery platform for education technologies, or web and app-based learning tools for kids. P.A.L. connects experts with parents to better support the cognitive, social and emotional needs of their children.

P.A.L. is passionate about closing the education gap in NYC by providing access to events at low or no cost to make sure that every parent who wants to pursue quality education for their child has that opportunity. P.A.L. is a founding sponsor of the NYC Gifted and Talented Symposium, a one day event to support high potential youth. For more information or sponsorship see www. palworkshopsnyc.org.